On a separate issue, when asked if there was a possibility that militant members of the Abu Sayyaf Group (ASG), Maute group and the Royal Sulu Force (RSF) were hiding in the Peninsular, Mohamad Fuzi said police were investigating the matter.

"Those arrested in the Mar 11 and Mar 12 operations are Filipinos, they were either escaping from the security forces of the Philippines or protecting militant members.

"We are investigating the matter as we do not allow foreign terrorist fighters to use Malaysia for their activities," he said.

Yesterday in a statement, Mohamad Fuzi said 12 Filipinos believed to be members of the outlawed ASG, Maute and RSF, and a Malaysian, were arrested in Semporna and Tambunan, Sabah last week.

He said some of the suspects fought along with the Maute group in the Marawi siege, in southern Philippines in 2017 and some were responsible for Sabah’s Lahad Datu and Semporna incursions in 2013.